IATA: Africa the second strongest region for freight in Apr-2019, FTKs decline in the Middle East

IATA, in its Jun-2019 Africa and Middle East regional briefing, stated (25-Jun-2019) Africa was the second strongest performer among all regions in terms of freight demand in Apr-2019, recording a 4.4% year-on-year increase in FTKs. In the Middle East, IATA reported structural changes along with global headwinds contributed to declining FTK growth. The association said FTK growth remains under pressure on most of the region's key international routes. Africa-Asia was the best performing market in Apr-2019 but has shown "high volatility" in recent months. Middle East-Europe recorded an 8.3% decrease in FTKs, which was the market's weakest performance since mid 2014. Freight load factor performance "deteriorated modestly" for both Africa and the Middle East in Apr-2019, compared to Mar-2019. [more - original PR]